New Books By Rosemary West

By the Numbers

Numerology is the ancient art for predicting personal characterisitics, personality, and even your innermost desires, by adding up numbers in a certain way.

I really enjoyed By the Numbers just for the pure fun of it. In my college days, fortune-telling and astrology seemed fun and exciting because we looked forward to life and wondered where we were going and what would be our ultimate destiny. Later in life it is interesting to see just how accurate such time-honored methods really are.

West does an excellent job of explaining the process. The book kept me quite intrigued as I cast my numbers in various ways. I also enjoyed reading the results to my husband, and we were both surprised at the accuracy, as I compared my results to his.

According to my birth number, I was preordained to be something of an intellectual, although I could have a tendency to be a loner and socially isolated. In spite of this, my heart's desire is to be a creative leader. By contrast, my husband (who is a dynamic teacher) has a birth number that says he will find fulfillment through sharing his education with others. He was born with a flamboyant and dynamic nature and has a great imagination, according to his birth and personality numbers.

Perhaps it is mere coincidence, but these two Pythagorean system analyses from By the Numbers are actually quite accurate, and would have made no sense to us if the descriptions had been reversed.

Whether you believe in numerology or not, this book is a great deal of fun for social gatherings, and for passing the time enjoyably. You can even predict what sort of day you will have, by calculating your personal year and date. You can see how name changes have affected you over the years. If you are naming a child, you can use this little book as something of a guide.

West packed a great deal of information into By the Numbers for hours of numerology fun, but the book is small enough to carry conveniently in a handbag or briefcase.

Things That Melt

This collection of poetry, drama and short stories gives us a glimpse into the creative mind of Rosemary West. Although some of the work is slightly on the bizarre side, it is never boring. The writing will make you think, and sometimes even laugh at the sheer absurdity of the scene.

West has a way of painting a picture with only a few words, drawing you into a world different from the mundane reality of everyday life. She makes you see, smell and taste the scene with her imagery; you'll feel the Wrigley's spearmint gum sticking to your shoe.

West really excels in the art of the ironic twist. Her stories and characters will draw you in, but the denouement will surprise you.

I look forward to the future literary works of Rosemary West. A master of descriptive language, West has great potential as a writer of mystery or drama.